DA believes inmate offers murder for bond

Cortez Coleman, a suspect in a murder and an attempted murder, will temporarily be held without bond after attorneys learned he wrote a letter to a convicted murderer in Angola offering to "handle personal business" for him in exchange for paying his bond.

The 4th Judicial District Court heard the motion by Assistant District Attorney Holly Jones to hold Coleman on Wednesday.

Coleman wrote to Dveil Freeman, who was recently convicted of a murder in 4th Judicial District Court. Freeman had hired another individual to commit the murder, according to court documents

Coleman begins the letter telling Freeman that he likes his style, "I always wanted to be some(one) like you with street credentials."

Then he gets down to business.

"I wanted you to do me a favor by helping me bond out and my favor in return for you is to handle some personal business for you (checkmate), if you know what I mean," Coleman writes. "I'm willing and ready to get the job done for you bossman."

Checkmate, in UrbanDictonary.com, is defined as "surrounding a person and threatening their life" and "when he sneaks up on the guy with a gun and the other guy has nowhere to go."

The letter continues with Coleman's further attempts to convince Freeman.

"I heard about your situation, and I just read in the newspaper, but it's all f----- up, homie " he writes. "But, I feel like something could be done. All these n----- bumpin' their gums on you need some medicine. If you understand what I'm talking about I'm the man to get the job done."

In her request to hold Coleman without bond, Jones said releasing Coleman "poses an imminent threat to specific persons, i.e., those that testified and or prosecuted Devil Freeman and also to society at large as he (Coleman) has already shot two individuals and is openly expressing his willingness to harm others."

In his March trial, Freeman testified that there were inconsistent statements by state police and lies told by witnesses.